Sidu Ponnappa on the AI-native firm

Subtext by Zerodha · Oct 2, 2026 · 1h 39m

We cover:

- Why an AI agent is an extension of your subconscious rather than a junior employee, why enterprise AI pilots fail due to terrible UX, and why the "good-enough" middle of India's IT sector is vanishing.

- It also covers the flaw in traditional AI courses, why startups must pivot with every model upgrade, and why India's sovereign AI strategy should explicitly aim to secure the global number three spot.

Timestamps:

0:00 Intro

0:39 Background and introduction to Sidu Ponnappa

1:35 Two different ways to define what an AI agent actually is

3:31 Why agents cannot respect architectural…